


Washington Blues

by Debi_C



Series: Alpha Gate Challenges [10]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M, Infidelity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-11
Updated: 2011-10-11
Packaged: 2017-10-24 12:55:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/263695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Debi_C/pseuds/Debi_C
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Story I of the 7 Days of Whumping challenge<br/>Jack leaves someone behind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Soul Deep

Geek.

Dweeb.

Flaky.

No foundation.

Admire you.

All those words, for all these years. I thought that we'd figured it out. I thought that we were friends.

I was your friend.

Then, you were gone. To Washington DC. To the Pentagon.

Did she wait for you? Is she who you wanted? Or is she what you needed? An accomplished woman on your arm?

I guess I don't fit the stereotype of a General's helpmate. I can't attend the functions and fit in with slink and sparkle.

Is that why you left without notice? Is what we had so meaningless?

Or were you just embarrassed? You were cheating on me with her as I died. With some strange woman in your bed as I took a blade to my heart. Was she less evil that cheating with my friend? Did Sam feel betrayed too? Was she? More or less than I?

Why do I even care anymore? Why should it matter to me? I'm free of your boundaries and limitations.

You cannot stop me. I am free to travel the galaxy at last. I can go anywhere. I can go to Atlantis.

You never loved me like I loved you.

Bastard.


	2. Poisoned By Prosperity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 of the 7 Days of Whumping. Poisoned.   
> Jack realizes what he's lost.

As I crawl back into my bed from my bathroom, I wonder what Daniel's doing. I have no right or cause to do it, I just miss him.

Tonight I went to one of those Fancy Dress functions for the Pentagon and I think it was the chicken. I hate the fancy food anyway and I thought it tasted off...kind of metalicky. Four or five glasses of champagne didn't wash the flavor away. I made it home, but now I'm paying for it.

Funny how being sick as a damned dog puts things in perspective. Five years ago, as a Colonel, all it took was a phone call. Daniel would materialize in my bedroom and take care of me. If he couldn't, he'd call Doc Frazer and I'd be whisked away to the mountain. Now as a General, no one will come.

That seems so long ago. The companionship, the caring, the warmth has gone. No, I left. I thought it was the right thing. That I could do more here. What an ego.

Now I've lost it all. My friends, my place in the universe, are all gone. I've been poisoned by more than chicken-coco van. I've been poisoned by pride, self-importance, lust and greed.

I threw my life away and abandoned my love with betrayal and sarcasm. He had been gone, she had been easy. What a stupid bastard you are O'Neill. It would serve you right if you died right here in your own vomit of ptomaine poisoning. No one would care and it would serve you right.

I wish I could click my heels three times and go back to Cheyenne Mountain where my good wizard lives. I want to go home. But there is no home, not any more. And he's probably not even there.


	3. Asassination Attempt.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 7 Days of Whumping. DAY 3 to shoot someone.  
> Just another day in Washington DC

It's a sunny day in Washington DC. The cherry trees are blooming and I'm playing politician again. I'm accompanying the Air Force Chief of Staff, General Schwartz. He's a good guy; I've known him for years since working together in Special Ops in the 80s. He has a meeting with the President and I was asked to accompany him. The man doesn't walk around alone ya know.

Landry and some other SG folks are coming to town to meet with President also. I should get a call for that too. I am Homeworld Security after all. It could be budget or IOA related. I'm responsible for the missions and the money. The SGC has been getting short changed for Atlantis. I need to find a way to even everything out. We also need to find a way to 'pay' our alien employees. American dollars aren't worth much in the Pegasus Galaxy.

I'm also thinking of taking a little vacation. Official business keeps me busy, but I need a break from the red tape. Maybe a fishing trip to Minnesota. Maybe get someone to come with me, if he will.

We're walking down the sidewalk to the limo for the Capital Building. I see a glint of metal in a corner where it hadn't been before. My instincts kick in. I manage a yell before I tackle Schwartz. I feel a hard blow to my head and I'm on the ground with a blue uniform under me. I can hear someone calling my name.

"Jack!"

"It's okay." I say then it all goes away.

I wake up in the hospital. I'm evidently not dead yet. Blue eyes capture my attention.

"You leave us and look at the mess you get yourself into."

"You neva call, you neva write." I'm slurring, so not good.

"So you get shot to get my attention?" He picks up a cup of ice from the tray next to the bed and slips some chips in my mouth.

"Whadeva works."

"I heard you'd been sick, now this. I don't think Washington agrees with you."

"Sucks." I sigh. "How's Norton?"

"General Schwartz is fine. He's with Landry and the President. You, however, got shot in the head. The Bullet skinned off your thick skull and scared the hell out of everyone."

"You?"

"I'm here. Where else should I be?"

I nod and close my eyes. Where else indeed.


	4. Hostage!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 7 Days of Whump. Day 4 - Taken prisoner and beaten up.  
> They have him now.

Help! I'm being held captive in a fucking hospital! They've got me tied down and they're torturing me with drugs. They say I'm here cause I was injured saving Norton Schwartz. I remember the Jaffa hiding behind the Cherry Tree. I knocked the General down and was hit in the head.

Now, I'm tied to this bed and they're putting Nishta in me with an IV. I even have a Foley in my dick.

I know it's that red headed bitch Hathor! She's pretending to be Frasier in her little white dress, but Doc's dead. I pray she doesn't have Daniel. He doesn't need her mind fucks. Damn, here she comes.

"General, how are we feeling?"

"Get the hell away from me." She's got a container. Noooo, she's gonna snake me! "Stay right there or I'll kill you!"

She makes cow eyes at me. "General, please calm down. I don't want to sedate you."

"Get that snake away from me."

She finally sets the bucket down. "This is just to empty your Foley bag. There's no snake in it."

"Where's my team? What have you done to them?"

"Sir, please, someone is here. Calm down so he can talk to you."

Daniel comes through the door. He's wearing a suit. Where are his BDUs?

"Jack, it's alright. Calm down and I'll explain."

"Where's Carter and Teal'c?"

"Jack, they're at the SGC. We're in Washington. You were shot in the head. You're confused."

"Daniel," He comes closer to me. "Daniel, that's Hathor. She's gonna snake me. We've got to get out of here."

He reaches his hand through the tangle of wires and tubes that keep me in the bed. "Jack, its okay. Look, you're just confused. This is a nurse, she's not Hathor. Jack, do you trust me?"

I look into those blue eyes. "Yeah."

"You're safe. We're okay. You can depend on me. I'll protect you."

I believe him. I can always trust Daniel. "Yeah." The drugs begin to take effect and I'm getting sleepy.

His free hand brushes my face gently. "Love you." He whispers.

I can sleep.


	5. Saving Jack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 7 Days of Whumping. Day 5 - Whumped accidentally in a humorous way by another team member.  
> He's a doctor...of Archaeology.

Finally, I got it straight in my mind.

I'd seen an assassin attempt to kill the Air Force Chief of Staff. My instincts had kicked in and I'd knocked my old friend to the ground and taken one for the team. I'm sure now that he was a Taliban or Al Qaeda, not a Jaffa.

While in the hospital under sedation, I'd had a series of flashbacks to the old Goa'ulds that SG1 had fought. Then, I remember, to my chagrin, that Daniel had arrived and settled me down.

Life was good. Well, so I had thought. Then, I had remembered how rough it could be to have a genius as a best friend.

*

As I woke up again from the sedatives that SOMEBODY kept ordering, I'd noticed that Daniel had stayed in the room after my last flashback episode. Said civilian scientist was passed out with his butt in a chair and his arms and head on my bed, specifically, on my arm. That was okay, except with my arms fastened to the bed due to my earlier disorientation, I couldn't move out the arm out of harms way and it was as numb as a post. There was also a magazine poking me in the ribs.

"Daniel. Daniel? Daniel!" I called with increasing volume until the sleepyhead moved a bit. "Daniel!"

"Jack." Startled, my buddy jerked his head up and entangled himself, his glasses and the magazine in the wreath of tubing and electrical wire, thus putting pressure on my connections.

"Ouch!" That hurt...a lot.

The still dazed Daniel reached to disengage himself from the circuitry. In the process, he hit the button that lifts the foot of my bed where my legs were still secured, thus putting pressure on my still present Foley catheter. Realizing that he had hurt me, Daniel reached for the control panel. He accidentally hit the IV line and tore a tiny little hole in the top of my poor hand. Blood began welling out of the affected area.

"Damn it, Daniel!"

"Oh, sorrysorrysorry." The sight of my blood apparently upset him even more and, as he pushed himself away from the bed, his chair hit the rolling bed table and tipped a pitcher of ice cold water onto the sheet covering my privates.

"AAAAHHHHHaaahhh!" The water made a direct hit onto my warm gonads. This caused me to sit up abruptly and hit my head on the overhead light that someone had evidently pulled down to help him read an Archaeology Today magazine.

Seeing the ice melting into the thin blanket and onto my shriveling attributes, Daniel tried to snatch the offending material off of me and, in doing so, snagged my catheter tubing. This proved that the ice had not completely deadened the little Colonel's feelings nor the lamp my pain sensing mechanism.

I screamed. Daniel screamed. Nurse Hathor ran into the room, Daniel backed into her and fell, landing on her. She screamed also, adding a nice vibrato to the whole chorus as they hit the floor.

An innocent orderly ran in, slipped on the sodden magazine on the floor and grabbed for the bed managing to reach the heart monitor cords and pull the glued on electrodes off of my manly hairy chest. As he fell, he also completed removing the IV from the top of my savaged hand.

I think that is when I fainted dead away.

I woke up several hours later. As I looked around he realized that, other than the original head bandage and a band aide on the top of my hand, there was nothing attached to me in any way shape or form except some fresh new linen. All other probes were gone. I also noticed there was a second bed in the room, and its occupant seemed very familiar.

"Daniel? Is that you?"

"Jack, oh God, Jack are you all right?" Daniel was lying in the bed next to his, also clad in a regulation hospital gown. "I thought I'd killed you!"

"Yeah, well, I think so." I felt around to be sure all parts were in place. "My head hurts, my hand hurts and my willie hurts too for some reason." I looked curiously at my new room mate. "Why are you here?"

He looked embarrassed. "I fell and twisted my ankle."

We were interrupted by the door opening and in walked Hank Landry, an Air Force Doctor and a red haired nurse who looked familiar and was sporting a black eye. "Jack, how are you feeling?" He asked.

I looked from him to my companion. "Not too bad, a little sore. But I don't know why Daniel's here."

Landry glanced back and forth between us. "Doctor Jackson, can you answer General O'Neill's question?"

Daniel blushed a bright pink. "Visiting?"


	6. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 7 Days of Whumping. Day 6 - Whumped with an unusual object.  
> They have the talk.

We climbed out of the limo that had brought us back to Jack's apartment from the hospital. The President and General Schwartz had insisted as Jack had saved the Air Force's Chief of Staff from an assassin's bullet. That little bit of bravery had nearly cost them one hero in exchange for his saving another.

Jack got out and stretched his muscles. No only was he wounded in the head (thank God for hard Irish heads) but he then had flashbacks to some of our nastier Goa'uld encounters. He even mistook a red haired nurse for Hathor. I showed up just in time to calm him down before he killed her. Of course, I managed to get involved in his little fantasy, fall down and sprain my ankle. I told him he just wanted my company.

That was two days ago and his consistent bitching finally won us our freedom. So here we are, ascending to the Penthouse of Ambitions. I've not been here before and I didn't know what to expect. Would there be evidence of his bachelor life? How many toothbrushes would be on display?

We exit the elevator and enter the apartment. It's very nice, expensive furniture and an extensive view of the capital city. I don't recognize any of the décor. Jack heads for the leather couch and sits gingerly down on its cushioning softness. "Make yourself at home, Daniel. What do you want for dinner: pizza, Chinese or Italian? He picks up the phone and looks at me for a decision.

I take stock of the room. There is no evidence of any other person here, not even pictures. Well, other than the old photos I knew from Colorado. There's the team, Janet and Cassie, Charlie and an odd one of the two of us back when my hair was long and Jack's was brown. We were smiling at each other then, proving just how long ago that had really been.

"How about the truth, Jack?"

He looked at me and sighed. "Which truth is that, Daniel?"

"Why? Why this?" I waved my arm around.

"The job?" he looks around for a moment as if trying to find the answer tucked away in a shelf or on a window sill. "I thought that I might be able to do more good here." he clasps his hands and leans forward. "I really didn't know how much work George was doing for us. Its no wonder he went bald."

"Work?"

He looked confused, his brown eyes looking plaintive under the white bandage. I oddly wondered if they had to shave his head for the injury. He had gained a few pounds too. Does Washington make all men bald and fat? I shook myself from my reverie when he answered. "Of course the work. Why else would I come to this rat's nest of politicians and lawyers? I got another star for two more years, the SGC gets some help and I get a bigger pension to live on."

I take a deep breath and bite the bullet. "What about her?"

Jack actually hung his head. "Her? You mean Kerrie?"

I nod.

"Daniel, I can truly say that I haven't seen her since I got here except at White House parties. We smile, we wave, and we walk away." He grimaced, "That was the most expensive fuck of my life, and the most worthless. It was like getting drunk on cheap whiskey and wrecking a Porsche."

Now I'm confused. "What?"

He looked up at me and motioned me to hobble over and sit next to him. I picked the opposite end of the couch out of his reach. "Daniel, I wrecked my team for a Washington whore. She came to do an inspection, not only on the SGC but on me too. When she left she said I had passed the test. I didn't understand what she meant until I got here. Danny, they don't want people here who aren't flexible and I don't mean just in bed. The Powers That Be, not the President or the JCS but the power mongers, they want people they can control. I guess they figured that if I would cheat on people I loved they could find my weak spot and make me dance to their tune. When they found out they couldn't, they've been making my life miserable ever since."

"You mean you passed the test..."

"...and failed the class." He chuckled. "The only people I can trust here is myself and Paul Davis, and sometimes I'm not so sure about Paul."

"So, you're staying for the retirement?"

"I'm staying until someone else is ready, probably Hank, to step up to the plate, then I'm headed for Minnesota so fast their heads will spin. Then it's no phone, no fax and no computer. Hopefully," he looks at me pleadingly "only a few of my nearest and dearest friends, if I have any left by then."

"Friends you have."

"But not lovers," He leaned back on the expensive leather. "I know I've lost that privilege. I'll be glad just to have friends."

"Privileges can be earned, Jack. Old hurts can heal."

"Can they?" he looked at me intensely. "If I'd cheated on Sarah, she would have put a knife in my back."

"I'm not Sarah." I have to stop this or we'll do something we'll regret. It's too soon, and we're both too raw. "I've already had the knife. Let's have Chinese instead."

Jack looks at me in confusion. "Are you whumping me with Cantonese cooking?"

I grin at him. "I was thinking Szechwan and plum wine."

He finally smiles that smile I love so much. "There should always be wine."


	7. Heroes, Just For One Day.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The 7 Days of Whumping. Day 7 Tossed in a river!   
> They finally figure it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also not belonging to me is Heroes The Song. Words by David Bowie. Music by David Bowie and Brian Eno. No excuses. I just like it! And here it is on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYjBQKIOb-w

Jack is on leave and I'm on vacation. We're walking along the Potomac River. Across the river is the Jefferson Memorial. It's a beautiful day and we're finally really talking.

We admitted something had clicked those 11 years ago when we first met. Then on my return from Abydos, we worked on our friendship. He was a divorcee, I was pretty much a widower. We bonded over our devastating losses.

With Shau're's death things changed. He destroyed our friendship because he was afraid of his feelings for me. I admitted I hadn't helped because of my rejection issues. The NID sting started it; the fiasco with Reese killed it.

Then, of course, I died.

He's admitted that my return was a shock. We never really reconnected. I remembered too little and he remembered too much.

Then, I died again. That's what did it. I loved him and he loved me but it was way too complicated. There was poor confused Sam, there was Cam and the team, Vala and her schemes and of course Atlantis of my dreams. We spiraled out of control and ran in opposite directions.

But in our hearts we had always known. Whether it was in Pegasus or Minnesota, we belonged together. It was just a matter of time.

So, here we are, in Washington DC, on the Potomac, sightseeing. We couldn't run, we shouldn't hide. Our lives are before us. In another year, he can retire and I can bow out of the SGC. We'll just have to see.

"Hey," he jabs me in the ribs. "Penny for your thoughts."

"I thought Washington threw a dollar across the Potomac."

"Actually it was the Rappahannock, and probably a quarter because there weren't any silver dollars yet."

"Really? Why not a shilling or a pence?"

Jack looks at me like I'm speaking Goa'uld. "What are we talking about?"

"Throwing something across the Potomac."

He looks at me strangely. "I can't throw anything 'across' the river,"

My danger sense goes all tingly, but I can't run away.

"Jack,"

He grabs me by the arms and spins us around. I latch on to his shirt with both hands.

He off balances us and over we go, thrown in the river by impetus.

We both go under then come to the surface, spitting and laughing. This is so like our relationship it's almost predictable.

A policeman has run to the bank and is looking down at us suspiciously. "Hey, what's going on down there?"

We clamber to the bank and pull ourselves up. "Sorry, Officer. My friend lost his balance and I tried to catch him." The O'Neill charm kicks in without thought.

"We meant no harm." I add. "I sprained my ankle."

The cop looks us over. He shakes his head. "Have you boys been drinking?"

"No, but I think its time we started." We look like two drowned whomp rats. Jack grins at me and I smile back. "Danny, lets go home."

The policeman helps us out. "You two get out of here before I arrest you for being a public nuisance. "

As we walk off, Jack is murmuring in a low voice.

"I, I will be king   
And you, you will be queen   
Though nothing will drive them away   
We can be Heroes, just for one day   
We can be us, just for one day."

"I'm not a queen, Ziggy." I protest laughing.

He smirks and continues.

"And you, you can be mean   
And I, I'll drink all the time   
'Cause we're lovers, and that is a fact   
Yes we're lovers, and that is that"


End file.
